Red Heads
by Madpadz
Summary: A look into the moments after Tony and Pepper deal with his female conquests. Pepperony, Pre-IM1.
1. Red Is the Color of the Sun

**Disclaimer: **I do not own anything; not Pepper, not Tony, not a gold-titanium alloy suit. I only own the one character in this story that I made up, the rest belongs to Marvel.

* * *

_"Red is the color of the sun with my eyes closed." _**  
**-**Seven **by **Dave Matthews Band**

"I do anything and everything Mr. Stark requires, including occasionally, taking out the trash. Will that be all?" As she said this, the blonde reporter's face blanched, and quietly took her clothes from Pepper's arms. Pepper nodded as the woman excused herself and the blonde hair disappeared around the corner.

Pepper had escorted what seemed like hundreds of girls from Tony's room since she had started working for him. She had seen so many different varieties that she hardly noticed anymore; blondes, brunettes, even some with pink hair. What she had noticed, however, was that he didn't seem to bring home many red-heads. Granted, she had seen a couple, but not for at least a year.

In fact, she could remember exactly the last time she had seen him with one. She remembered Tony getting into his limo with the petite girl following behind him, her flaming, glossy curls shining in the lights of the city. The girl was stunning, with high cheek bones and lips painted a deep red. She was much paler than most of the girls Tony took with him, but it only made her that much more striking. Pepper remembered dreading the fact that she would have to see the girl again the next morning and tell her that she had been kicked to the curb; another woman used as a toy in the hands of Tony Stark. The most memorable thing about the entire ordeal was that when she went to Tony's house the next morning, she didn't see the girl there at all. Upon entering Tony's room, she found him sitting alone, looking confused with a small piece of paper in his hand. He looked up as the door opened.

"I'm sorry, Mr. Stark, I wasn't expecting you to…" she trailed off as he stared blankly at her, still looking slightly confused. There was a few moments of awkward silence, and she continued. "Did you need anything?" He shook his head and she nodded, retreating from the room and closing the door quietly. She was as confused as he looked, but never inquired about what had happened. She hadn't seen a single red-head grace his bed since.

She shrugged away the memory and went downstairs to round up her boss; as usual, he was already running late.

* * *

As Tony dismantled the engine in front of him, his thoughts wandered over to the blonde who was about to be woken up or already had been by Pepper. What was her name again? Carrie? It didn't matter, really; he'd probably never speak to her again, even if she wanted to. In truth, he had slept with so many blondes he didn't even bother to inventory their names anymore. Brunettes were a little less frequent in his bed, and red-heads were barely there at all. In fact, the last one had been at least a year ago. He remembered the memory like it was yesterday.

The woman had been stunning; she was a model, like most of the women he slept with were. However, when he had met her that night, she was different; she didn't throw herself at him when he first approached her, nor did she seem impressed by his blatant attraction to her. She only began to get interested when he let slip something about the Hot Rod he was working on; this surprised him immensely, seeing as when he brought it up to most models they just nodded their heads and gave him googley eyes. They had flirted a little, he recalled; she had obviously had quite a bit to drink, but she had a poker face that rivaled his own and he respected her for it. When he asked if she wanted to go home with him, she nodded reluctantly and followed him out to the limo. They didn't talk at all when they got in the vehicle, but to his surprise, they didn't touch at all either. He watched her intently as she simply stared out the window at all the bright lights of the city.

When they arrived at his mansion, they entered and kissed tenderly. This also surprised him, as most women usually practically crawled all over him as soon as they got through the door. Eventually they did make their way into his bedroom, removing all articles of clothing and slipping under the sheets.

When they were finished, he looked over to see if she was sleeping; he froze when he saw a mascara-stained tear roll down her sharp cheekbone. Terrified he had done something wrong, he asked if he had hurt her. She smiled slightly and shook her head, and relief blossomed in his chest; the last thing he needed was a lawsuit for abusing a supermodel. He fell asleep before she did, he knew, as he had been listening to her breathing before he had let slumber consume him.

Sunlight shined through the window as Jarvis rattled off the time and weather at him, and he jumped; usually he made a point to leave that way he didn't have to witness the departing of his latest conquest. As he cautiously looked beside him, he sat up quickly as he found the spot was empty. Quickly searching the room, he found that her clothes were gone. Looking back at the empty space, his eye caught a small sheet of paper on the pillow. Picking it up, he let his eyes adjust before reading the neat handwriting.

_Dear Tony,_

_Thanks for last night. I know that the situation you're in right now is probably different than the one you're used to; everyone's heard the stories of the girls who get escorted out of your house by your assistant. I didn't want to be one more burden that the poor woman's already got to shoulder. _

_I'm really writing this note to let you know that I'm not the only one who was being used last night; we both needed someone, and we both got someone. It helped me see some things more clearly; I have someone that I love and need to go back to. I hope one day you find that person, too. _

_You're worth more than you give yourself credit for, Tony, and these girls aren't worth your time. They use you just as much as you use them. Thanks again for everything._

_Hope for the best,_

_Victoria_

He stared at the note, confused. When Pepper walked in, she looked as surprised as he was and awkwardly retreated out of his room.

He'd saved the note and kept it in his room somewhere. He eventually found out the girl's full name: Victoria White, a very popular model in Europe. His mind was torn from one red-head to another as Pepper entered the room.

He only had room for one red-head in his life.

* * *

As Rhodey talked to him on the way to Afghanistan, Tony casually scanned through a magazine that lay on the table. He turned to the main story and his eyes widened a bit at the headline; it read, _"Victoria White – Married to Her Long Time Boyfriend"_. He scanned the picture of the red-head dressed in white, grinning happily in the arms of her groom who was much younger than Tony (he couldn't have been older than 26). The young man had brown hair that reached his shoulders, and was wearing the same face-splitting grin as his wife. Tony couldn't help but feel happy for the woman, but at the same time felt extremely sad – she had followed her own advice and was now happy, while he was still bored and going through partners like toilet paper.

"What's up, Tony?" Rhodey asked, taking in his friend's unreadable expression. Tony shook his head, letting his mask slip back on effortlessly and nonchalantly placed the article in front of the Colonel.

"I'm pretty sure I've slept with her before," he said in his usual smug tone, gesturing to the good-looking model. Rhodes rolled his eyes.

"Naturally."

Tony smirked in return, but couldn't beat down the feeling in his chest that Victoria now had something he didn't. Who was he going to spend the rest of his life with?

His thoughts automatically slid to Pepper, and he quickly pushed the thought away as the flight attendant came over with their drinks.

* * *

**A/N: **My first ever IM fic, don't eat me. This was obviously set the day Tony was kidnapped and would naturally get him thinking about Pepper when he's in the cave later. I see Victoria White looking like Evan Rachel Wood, and her husband looking like Emile Hirsch, in case you were curious. Tell me what you think!


	2. Dreaming With A Broken Heart

Pre- IM1.

* * *

"_There must be a devil between us, or whores in my head;  
whores at my door, whores in my bed, but hey.  
Where have you been? If you go, I will surely die."  
_**-Hey **by **Pixies**

* * *

Pepper calmly walked down the steps to the workshop. She had managed to avoid Tony all day; this was partly a punishment for him, partly to save his sorry ass from her wrath. It was four in the morning when he called her, telling her that 'his room needed cleaning'—his key phrase that he used when he had entertained a guest the night before and needed Pepper to show them the door. Naturally, when she had arrived at the mansion he had already descended to his workshop to escape from whatever womanly wrath he might face.

The girl actually hadn't said much; when Pepper went into the bedroom (not Tony's of course, he never brought any of them to his own), she was already dressed and on her way out. She thanked Pepper quietly before walking out the door. It almost made Pepper feel sorry for her. Almost.

She sighed heavily before punching in her code and opening the door. Tony sat behind his desk, tinkering with a device that could probably destroy the entire state of California.

"You're mad." His voice startled her slightly, but she didn't show it. It wasn't a question; he knew it, she knew it. She sighed a second time before speaking.

"I need you to sign these, R & D asked for your approval three weeks ago."

"Did they?" he said absently, redirecting his concentration to the object in his hands.

"Yes, they did, and we would all love it if you could stop wasting time and money by signing this form." She said, exasperated already; it had been a long morning, and she was ready to go home.

"Would you?" he asked, eyes narrowing as a piece of the object popped off. Pepper clenched her jaw, staring at him until he looked up. Taking the papers from her, he grudgingly began scanning through them.

"Why are you mad?" he inquired, and she rolled her eyes.

"Mr. Stark—"

"Stop calling me that, would you? We've been together for five years—"

She laughed in disbelief at the statement, and he just looked at her.

"Don't start with me, okay? Just sign the papers." Her voice was tired; she could hear it, and she was sure Tony could too.

"I'm being serious."

"So am I."

The truth was, she was angry. She was angry and _extremely _tired. She _did _have a life outside of him. When he called at four that morning, she had been in somewhat of an intimate moment with her "boyfriend"—if she could even call him that—and had left him in the bed alone. It only made matters worse that she was supposed to have the day off, but she had come anyway. He had been furious when she was getting dressed, cursing as he accused her of leaving him to pick up another man's trash.

"Don't be a bitch because you had to do your job." His cold words shocked her out of her reverie, and she laughed icily back at him.

"Right. Because it's my job to clean up your whores, on my _day off,_ no less—"

"She wasn't a whore!"

"I think that's debatable."

"You still came to make her leave—"

"Because you refuse to do it yourself!"

"I think you're just mad because you don't get as much as me," he said, half-smirking at her. She rolled her eyes at him.

"Not that that's any of your business anyway, Tony."

"So you agree?"

"No, I don't—"

"Admit it, Potts. How long has it been since you've actually done anything not concerning your work?" He knew he was pushing her limits.

"You don't know anything about me, Mr. Stark." Her voice was about to start shaking; out of anger or just general exhaustion, she had no idea. The last thing she needed was a repeat of what Andrew had told her before she had come to work.

"Just go out and find someone, you'll feel a lot more relaxed. You're bitchiness level would probably drop down a few notches, too—"

"_Fuck _you, Tony."

Silence rang and rebounded off the walls of the workshop. Tony had pushed hard in the wrong places, and as much as she liked to think she could take it all, sometimes she couldn't. He stared at her, shocked. It was the most vulgar word she had ever used in his presence, and it had been directed at him. Her calm tone made it _that_ much worse; he would have been more comfortable if she had screamed it at him. Glancing at her eyes, he saw something that made him realize he probably should've stopped pushing; something reminiscent of hurt shone in them. Looking back down at the papers she brought him, he signed them quickly and handed them to her.

"Will that be all, Mr. Stark?" she asked coolly.

"That will be all, Ms. Potts."

His last thought as he watched her ascend the staircase was that no one could make him feel like an asshole quite like Pepper Potts could.

They didn't talk again for the remainder of the afternoon. At five o'clock, he walked upstairs; he needed to get out of the house, but didn't have a destination in particular. Pepper sat on the sofa, Blackberry in her hands and laptop on the coffee table in front of her.

"I'm going out," he told her softly. She didn't answer, so he repeated the statement a little louder.

"Fantastic," she replied emotionlessly. Nodding and feeling a little sick, he walked out the door. He drove around aimlessly for a few hours, taking scenic routes and letting his mind wander. After stopping to pick up food, he decided to head home.

When he arrived, it was late. He walked into the house, and soft acoustic music was floating from the lounge. Following the noise, he smiled slightly as he found Pepper sleeping on the couch. Her red hair was sprawled out around her head and her phone sat loosely in her fingers. It bleeped lightly and he frowned; Pepper didn't text many people other than Happy and himself, he knew for a fact. Nosily, he gently pulled the phone out of her grasp and read the notification. The name next to the number said "Andrew", and Tony's chest filled with an uncomfortable pressure.

Andrew? Who was Andrew? He hated when Pepper was with other men—they were all too stupid for her, anyway. And when she had plans, she couldn't stay with him.

He shook his head. Not that he needed her here, but what if something came up?

And this guy was texting her during work hours. He shook his head again; it was past work hours. Way past work hours. Rolling his eyes at himself, he continued to read the message.

_Pepper, I can't do this. This morning was the last time I'm forcing myself to watch you walk out the door. You choose him over me all the time, and that's not a relationship. I'm sorry._

Tony gaped at the phone. His mind reeled with thoughts; so Pepper definitely had a boyfriend. Or she _used_ to have a boyfriend, by the looks of things. Her boyfriend had just broke up with her? Over a text message?

_What a dick,_ Tony thought vehemently.

And suddenly it all clicked. Pepper had been going home at a decent time for months, except for tonight. This morning, he had called her at four in the morning, and she had come straight away. She had chosen to escort his mess out instead of staying at home with her boyfriend, and now she was being broken up with for it.

No wonder she had been angry with him this morning.

He realized, in the moment, exactly what Pepper did for him; the lengths she went to do her job. She couldn't separate home from work, because his life didn't allow her. He felt the pressure in the center of his chest increase, and his earlier thought reoccurred to him: no one could make him feel like an asshole quite like Pepper Potts could.

He placed the phone next to her laptop on the table, and placed a blanket over her body. He nearly laughed and puked at the irony as the lyrics to the acoustic song coming from Pepper's laptop echoed throughout the room.

_When you're dreaming with a broken heart, waking up is the hardest part._

* * *

_**A/N: **_So yeah, I added another chapter. This will probably be the last one on this story, unless I randomely feel like posting again. Thanks for your reviews, they make me happy, especially in times like this where certain aspects of my life are sickeningly and ironically mirroring Tony and Pepper's relationship. Give me some more to make me feel good! P.S. The song that's playing in the chapter and the last line is from **Dreaming With A Broken Heart **by **John Mayer**.


End file.
